Obviously there is no direct reference to John the Apostle being the writer of the John Gospel. the Revelation, or the Acts of the Apostles. Actually, there is no connotation that could connect the writers of these treaties to the Apostle. And so, there are disagreements.

In the mystery centers the initiate to be was , within the temple, placed into a trance state by the hierophant or leader who was aided by 12 acolytes or initiates of different substance, not all being alike. These were the priests of the mystery centers of Egypt, Persia, India and even Greece.

There were, of course, differences based upon the particular nation but the above is a good guide. In a particular Oriental initiation center the degrees of initiation were:

1) "Raven" or he who deals with outer life
2) "Occultist" or he who stood within the occult milieu.
3)"Warrior" or he who defends occult knowledge .
4)"Lion" or he who defends occult teaching and acts .
5) Folk Hero or he who carries the soul of the nation within as sacrifice of self and be termed with the terms such as "Israelite" or Persian' or "Egyptian". The interaction between Nathaniel and Christ Jesus presents Nathaniel as an "Israelite" or as an initiate of the fifth degree .
6) Sun Hero or "Christophorus"
7) Father

The mystery centers were the centers of science, religion, social life, medicine as the centers of knowledge , not only the earthly but the spiritual or Divine. This was the ancient university and more so the center of the life of a particular people.

Getting to the point , when an initiand was to be initiated he was referred to by the hierophant as the "beloved" and as "he who was loved". Of course if one reads the gospel of John we see Lazarus often referred to as the "beloved" by those who were present.

There is more as in the ancient mystery centers the initiand had to be placed into a trance state by the hierophant and acolytes for the "Ego' had to be suppressed. Human beings had not progressed, even in the midst of years of tedious preparation to enter the "Kingdom of God" with a conscious Ego as the Ego was unprepared. The consequences of a Ego in this process would have been catastrophic.

Things change and I'd refer you to the idea of the "fig tree" within the gospels and in this the "fig tree" dies. This is the esoteric picture of the mystery process and what was happening is that this method of entering the "Kingdom of God" was lost to mankind. The mystery centers were no more.

And so we have Lazarus, the beloved , who late in the John gospel signifies that "he who was loved" wrote the John gospel. The initiation had changed as Lazarus was the first Christian initiate , who was in effect initiated by Christ Jesus . this initiation was accomplished with a "clear Ego" or that which was effected without the trance state of the old initiations.

The "Risen Lazarus' who became known as John entered into the "Kingdom of God" with a clear "self consciousness". Now we know of Saul the Hebrew initiate of the Pharisees who persecuted the early Christians only to have the experience on the road to Damascus and he became known as Paul. Paul too, was initiated by the Christ being who he saw in the environs of the heavens and earth.

Both of these men had such a stupendous metamorphosis that the new names signified their new being. You would still see the human with the senses but the changes in their etheric, astral, and ego bodies which I have mentioned within previous posts would display the creation of this new man.

Previously the initiation of individual select men was within the mystery centers but the initiation process was given to all men with Christ as the initiator or hierophant; "not I but Christ in me" as spoken by Paul .

Each man, in the needed progression of recurrent earthly lives , is in development, aided by the highest of angelic beings , in order to live within the "Kingdom of God" within Christ as aid and template to the future of Man.